Short Summary: We take a look at all of the different casinos in the state of Maryland as well as investigating the status of online gambling and sports betting. We also look into the other forms of gambling that are legal in the state and breakdown the state’s six casinos.
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Maryland is generally pretty unrestrictive when it comes to gambling, at least, they have been since the time that they authorized land casinos in the state. Maryland is not home to any Tribal Casinos, but that’s just more a function of the fact that there are no tribes in Maryland who have attempted to build one as opposed to anything outwardly restrictive.
Maryland is an interesting state when it comes to Charitable Gambling because, for the most part, it is just, “Not illegal,” rather than legal as far as the state is concerned. The majority of charitable gambling regulations and operations are left up to cities and counties.
Maryland is home to The Preakness, which is one of the Triple Crown events and is historically a major state for horse racing. Dog racing is illegal in Maryland and has been for some time. The nearest state with dog racing is West Virginia at either Wheeling Island Hotel, Casino, Racetrack or at Mardi Gras Resort…but that’s probably just a matter of time.
The fiscal Year 2017 sales for the Maryland Lottery totaled approximately 1.935 billion dollars (ninth in the country) of which 1.197 billion (61.86% overall) was paid out to players in winnings. Both of these numbers were records for the state during that fiscal year. The population of Maryland was approximately 6.025 million in 2017, so lottery losses came out to about $122.49/resident.
In terms of sports betting, Maryland currently doesn’t have it largely due to the Senate and House of Representatives failing to come to an agreement, in 2018, as to whether or not the racetracks should also be allowed to offer sports betting. One side was in favor of casinos and tracks while the other wanted it for the casinos only.
However, an old bill from 1972 might actually enable the state’s lottery department to operate legalized and regulated sports betting completely independently of the casinos and racetracks. That option is being explored.
If that fails, then it looks as though the future of sports betting in Maryland will be heading towards a voter referendum (ballot measure) in the 2020 election. However, with bordering West Virginia and Pennsylvania (as well as nearby New Jersey) already on board, the State of Maryland would probably prefer not to have to wait that long on this one.
Online gambling is currently not legalized and regulated in the State of Maryland, and while many states have combined sports/online gambling Legislative efforts, the State of Maryland does not seem to be pushing for online gambling at all, at this point. Once several other states have it implemented, we imagine that Maryland will eventually join the fray. While they are one of the more gambling-friendly states, there have always been a number of others they’ve consistently been behind.
Update (Dec 22): As we mentioned above, the state does penalize having an unlawful gambling device which, in theory, might be construed as meaning someone’s phone if they are using it to gamble unlawfully. Per the usual, however, we have found no instance of a player actually being penalized for the mere act of gambling online.
In the meantime, legislation that would authorize online sportsbooks in the State of Maryland, according to CBS Sports, passed in 2020, though it took quite a long time to implement. Assuming CBS Sports is correct, the sports betting apps and websites did not go live until late 2021, which was only in the Baltimore area, then went fully live in November of 2022.
As of the time of this writing, there are just over a half dozen regulated sports betting websites, or apps, that are operating in the State of Maryland, with a few of them being the usual suspects, such as DraftKings, that can be found in perhaps dozens of other states.
Maryland has been a fairly liberal state when it comes to gambling, of course, in that the state is also home to a handful of land casinos, which we have listed below.
Public Gaming suggests that online casino-style gambling, and perhaps poker, could be coming to the State of Maryland soon, and our inclination is to agree, for a few reasons:
For these reasons, we think that the State of Maryland will legalize and regulate online casinos much sooner than several other states. Besides that, there’s no question they see the money that other states are pulling in as a result of taxing the revenues of online casino products.
In the meantime, however, there are already a number of online casinos already offering their services to the State of Maryland. If sports betting isn’t your thing, then feel free to check out our top recommendations above!
Currently, Maryland law would seem to suggest that playing/possession of a, “Gambling device,” that has not been authorized by the state is a crime punishable with perhaps up to two years in prison. For that reason, we would have to suggest that one’s computer or phone would constitute a gambling device in such a case.
However, the only arrests that we have seen for unlawful gambling have pertained to illegal sports betting operations as well as so-called, “Internet Cafes,” and have focused mainly on the operators. Essentially, how would anyone know what you are doing in your own home if you choose to play at online casinos?
There are extremely stiff penalties for operators of online casinos who do business in Maryland, but any such operators would be located offshore and are out of the reach of Maryland authorities.
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The racetracks will not be listed here as they do not offer any kind of casino gambling whatsoever, just live horse racing betting and simulcast wagering. The racetracks do have an interesting relationship with the casinos, however, in that, a percentage of the state’s video lottery terminal revenue (i.e. machines at the casinos) goes to the racetracks.
The Horseshoe Casino Baltimore is a two-story casino and, at 122,000 square feet, is the second-largest casino in the State of Maryland. The casino is home to video poker, slots, video keno, several table games and a World Series of Poker poker room. Opened in 2014, this casino is owned by Caesars Entertainment and has never changed ownership. It is part of the national Total Rewards loyalty program.
From pennies all the way up to $500 denomination, Horseshoe Baltimore boasts that they have over 2,200 total machines whether it is slots, video poker or keno you’re looking for. They also claim to have an awe-inspiring 153 table games which includes a wide variety of choices that will usually not be found at smaller properties. As of the time of this writing, CET also claims to allow 100x Odds on Craps, which is quite unusual, but you may want to call and make sure that is still the case if that’s important to you.
Games include Blackjack, Baccarat, Roulette, Craps, Pai-Gow Poker, Face Up Pai-Gow Poker, Pai-Gow Tiles, Three-Card Poker, Four-Card Poker, Mississippi Stud, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Let It Ride, Criss Cross Poker, Three Card Baccarat, Chase the Flush and Top 5 Poker. As always, we encourage a player looking for one of the less common games to call ahead of time for hours of when the table is generally in operation.
The World Series of Poker poker room is a 25 table affair spreading a variety of games.
In terms of food, Horseshoe Baltimore is home to two places for grab-and-go eats, three casual restaurants including a Guy Fieri location and a Gordon Ramsey Steakhouse for the upscale selection. The property does not feature a hotel of its own, but does partner with several Baltimore hotels, all of which are available on the Caesars Horseshoe Baltimore website.
Finally, there is also an off-track horse betting area at this property.
It may not be the biggest or most glamorous, but it was the first. Maryland’s first casino opened in Perryville on September 17, 2010 and boasts 75,000 square feet of gambling space. The property features a combined over 800 slots, video poker and video keno machines.
In addition to off-track betting, Hollywood Casino Perryville offers several gaming tables with games including Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Three-Card Poker, Spanish 21, and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em. With a casino of this size, one always does well to call ahead and see what time these games usually operate, especially for games outside of the, “Big Three,” of Craps, Roulette and Blackjack.
There is an off-track betting location available at this property for any simulcast wagering needs you may have. Additionally, the property features a poker room convenient to the entrance with as many as ten tables of action.
Dining options are limited to the casual Green Turtle Sports Bar and Grille as well as the Green Turtle Express. Entertainment is generally pretty limited to Saturdays consisting of local bands, karaoke or travelling cover bands. There is no hotel connected with the property.
What you have here is basically a locals casino which is probably not worth going out of your way for unless you happen to be in the general area anyway. What it pretty much amounts to is a watered-down version of your typical Hollywood Casino, which is already quite a cookie-cutter affair. If you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all.
Located in Hanover, Maryland, this casino was once known as Maryland Live!, but has since rebranded, for whatever reason, to the Live! Casino and Hotel. The casino is a monolithic structure, easily the largest in the state, and was built on what had previously been parking lots for the nearby mall. Because of that, the casino built a six-story parking structure that is free to both patrons of the casino as well as the mall.
There are a total of over 4,200 video poker, slot and video keno machines as well as nearly 200 gaming tables and over fifty poker tables. The casino did not originally open with an attached hotel, but just last Summer (2018) it opened a hotel and conference center consisting of 310 rooms and suites. I suppose that may be the reason for the name change, perhaps they figured nobody would know that there is a hotel there if they didn’t put it in the name.
While the size and scope of the casino rivals that of many destination casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere, the casino itself is otherwise pretty unremarkable. In terms of the aesthetics, there’s really absolutely nothing unique about the establishment that would even differentiate it from a locals casino. If you added some more red and put movie posters and marquees everywhere, it could just as easily be a Hollywood. If you put the Total Rewards logo all over the place, then it would be one of the several newer CET properties that have no real theme.
Video Poker players would do better to go anywhere else as the paytables are some of the worst in the entire country. While this is a non-smoking casino, there is a covered smoking area with a variety of games available. Table Games include Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Baccarat, Three-Card Poker, Four-Card Poker, Pai-Gow Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Mississippi Stud, Big Six and Criss Cross Poker. The less common games may not operate 24/7, so of course, we recommend calling ahead and getting the general hours on those if they are what you are looking for.
The property is again home to the Live! Hotel, but there are also a number of hotel options nearby as the property is close to a very large shopping complex.
Restaurants range across several styles and include David’s, The Prime Rib (closer to upscale), Luk Fu (a noodle bar), Luckies (coffee and desserts), Mortie’s (Casual deli), En Vivo (Latin), Phillips Seafood Express, Bobby’s Burger Palace and a Cheesecake Factory location.
The property also features a number of live area bands from time to time as well as major comedy and game show events, on occasion. The property’s hotel features a day spa and fitness center.
Overall, there’s plenty to do in and around this casino and plenty to see. I would not recommend it at all for video poker players, and for those of you with eardrums, be warned that this place is often extremely loud. There’s a ton of shopping given the proximity of the mall to the casino and a number of other places to stay nearby if the hotel is full. Unfortunately, with exception to its sheer size, there’s nothing at all unique about the casino and no real theme…so while there are a number of reasons to go there, it’s tough to call it a destination unto itself.
Having opened December 6, 2016, MGM National Harbor was built at a price tag of well over a billion dollars, all told. As an MGM property, the players club for this property is part of the MLife program, which much like CET’s Total Rewards, is a major nationwide players club program.
The property features a 23 story hotel tower which is home to 308 rooms and suites, 135,000 square feet of gaming space, a 3,000 seat theatre 27,000 square feet of meeting space and parking enough for nearly 5,000 vehicles. In addition to the Miss World pageant (2016), the property has featured such acts as Cher (residency) Britney Spears and Mariah Carey.
Ranging in denomination from pennies to $100, the property boasts over 2,800 slot, video poker and video keno machines. The property also houses a high limit room with 48 games that they describe as, “Exclusive.” There are dozens of table games including Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Pai-Gow Poker, Midi-Baccarat, Mini-Baccarat, Three-Card Poker, Four-Card Poker, Spanish 21 and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em. As always, we advise you call ahead for typical hours if looking for one of the less common games.
The poker room consists of 46 tables which include ten high-limit tables. Available games include, Limit Hold ‘Em, No Limit Hold ‘Em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) and Five Card Omaha. If you’re looking for a specific game or stakes, we recommend calling ahead or using something such as the Bravo Poker Live app. The website states that Seven Card Stud, as well as various draw poker games, are available upon request.
Restaurants include the casual Italian Osteria Costa, the upscale Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse, Fish by Jose Andres, Tap Sports Bar, National Market (various), Ginger (a variety of Asian-inspired choices), Shake Shack and the Maryland Fry Bar. There’s pretty much something for everyone to be found.
Amenities include on-site shopping, a spa and salon, as well as a pool for hotel guests. Nightlife includes three bars/lounges (with occasional entertainment) as well as a mixology class for those interested.
The casino is definitely the centerpiece of this resort which, in terms of MGM Properties, probably compares somewhat closely to The Borgata in Atlantic City. The food options, shopping and amenities really seem pretty similar. There’s definitely more to be had here artistically than with a cookie-cutter property, but I still don’t know that I would call it a destination unto itself.
Owned and operated by Churchill Downs Inc., Ocean Downs is both a casino as well as a harness racetrack. While most of the racetracks were not permitted to have casino operations, Ocean Downs, located in Berlin, stands as the exception.
If you have ever been to a local racino or casino with horse racing, this is not going to be much different. The size and scope of the property is basically that of a place mainly catering to locals or those who just happen to be visiting the area for other reasons. The property has no hotel of its own, but it is located in Ocean City, Maryland, so hotels are not hard to find.
The property features 70,000 square feet of gaming space which includes roughly 900 slot machines ranging from pennies to the $25 denomination. Video poker and video keno are also available. The property is also home to a smoking atrium as smoking on the main casino floor is banned. The ten table games include Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Three Card Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, Criss Cross Poker, Mississippi Stud and Chase the Flush. Table games do not run around the clock, so you would want to visit their site to see the hours.
And we highly recommend you call ahead and get the usual hours of operation if you want to play one of the less common table games.
Eateries include Dine & Dash, a casual restaurant mainly for soup and sandwiches, Pacers, which is a casual restaurant open during the live racing season, Poseidon’s Pub which is a pub house serving that style food, and finally, The Clubhouse Turn which is mainly a grab and g type of place.
Live and Simulcast horse wagering are both available and the live calendar can be found here.
This is a good place to hang out for an evening if you’re in the Ocean City area and is basically just a place for locals during the offseason. Pretty much any state that allows casino gambling at any of the racetracks has a place really similar to this one.
Located in the gorgeous Rocky Gap State Park, this casino resort is run by Golden Entertainment Inc. and the greater resort outside of the casino focuses mainly on outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking and fishing. The greater property is home to an 18-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, and finally, there is a 3,000 seat amphitheatre on the property.
The casino is housed in the same building as the hotel, which consists of 198 rooms and suites. The casino itself basically tries to get a lot into a fairly small area and can feel somewhat cramped, depending on your machine of choice. While smoking in the main casino is illegal, there is a covered smoking area that has perhaps around forty slot machines, but no video poker or video keno upon my last visit.
The casino is home to roughly 900 slots and around ten table games. Table Games include Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Mississippi Stud and Three-Card Poker. There is no poker room at this property.
The property’s buffet is called Lakeside, Signature is a casual place that offers live entertainment from April-October and LB’s is a lounge and casual dining restaurant.
Rocky Gap is one of the few resort properties where the casino itself seems rather an afterthought rather than the highlight of the property, One imagines that the majority of the casino goers are also there for the golfing and other outdoor activities as there isn’t much in the way of residential area that Rocky Gap is particularly convenient to. In my visits, I have found the casino to be somewhat dark and much louder than any casino of that size has any right to be. It’s definitely the best thing to do at this resort on a rainy day, though.
Poker is legal in Maryland at the casinos that have poker rooms. Maryland Live Casino has the biggest poker room in the state with over 50 tables.
Unlike many states, all charitable gaming like bingo, raffles, instant bingo, pull tabs, and other games of chance are regulated at the county level instead of the state level. Currently, over 20 counties in Maryland authorize some sort of charitable gaming for actual charitable organizations.
Charitable organizations have to apply for a license for each event they wish to hold. In addition to bingo and other normal charity events, Maryland charities can get licensed to hold roulette games, wheel of chance games, and casino nights. All casino night charitable gaming functions are restricted to card games only.
The state of Maryland offers a full line of lottery games controlled by the state and offers their residents the chance to participate in the Powerball and Mega Millions drawings. Mega Millions and Powerball are available in a wide range of states creating bigger jackpots faster than individual state lotteries.
Maryland law sets the percentage of lottery proceeds that get returned to players and the percentage given to the state. The state gets 30%, 10% goes to retailers, and 60% is returned to players as prizes.
Gamblers should compare the expected payback percentages on casino games before buying lottery tickets. Almost every game in the casino operates at less than a 10% house edge, making it much better to play in a casino than buy lottery tickets. The only game found in casinos that offers such poor returns is keno. Blackjack can offer a house edge of less than one percent and even the worst slot machines usually only work on a five to eight percent advantage.
Only antique slot machines, manufactured at least 25 years earlier, may be legally owned by Maryland citizens. Collectors who own antique slot machines can’t legally use the machines for any commercial or business purpose and machines may not be used for any type of gambling.
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While Maryland does not currently have legalized sports betting or online gambling, they do seem pretty liberal when it comes to other forms of gambling. The state is home to six casinos ranging from reasonable in size to monolithic. Unfortunately, the state takes such a huge cut of gaming revenues that gets divided so many different ways that video poker players aren’t likely to find too much that they will like.
The lottery is currently working on somehow offering sports betting as a lottery function, which would take it out of the casinos (except those with a lottery outlet). Sports betting legislation stalled last year because the Legislative bodies couldn’t agree on whether or not the racetracks should also get to have it. (Why shouldn’t they?) There also exists the potential for a ballot referendum vis-a-vis sports betting in 2020.
The state does not seem to be in any real hurry to legalize and regulate online gambling for the time being, but it’s hard to imagine they are completely opposed. They probably just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’d expect to see it within 5-10 years, or when the state really needs money, whichever comes first.
